Although remote, the prospect of a nuclear exchange between Russia and the United States is still all too real. Both countries maintain arsenals of thousands of weapons, some deployed on hair trigger alert, any one of which, if detonated, would surely change (and possibly destroy) the world as we know it. That is reason enough to take Russia seriously—and to maintain a strong working dialogue on strategic stability and security regardless of other disagreements. Yet Russia matters for so many more vital U.S. interests, ranging from its unique ambitions and capabilities to combat 21st Century threats such as terrorism, piracy, and pandemic disease, to its pivotal role in the institutions that shape our global political and economic order, as well as its indispensable role in managing regional conflicts in the Middle East, East Asia, and the post-Soviet space.

MATTHEW ROJANSKY, Director, Kennan InstituteMatthew Rojansky is Director of the Kennan Institute at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington, D.C. An expert on U.S. relations with the states of the former Soviet Union, especially Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, and Moldova, he has advised governments, intergovernmental organizations, and major private actors on conflict resolution and efforts to enhance shared security throughout the Euro-Atlantic and Eurasian region. Rojansky previously served as Deputy Director of the Russia and Eurasia Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and as Executive Director of the Partnership for a Secure America (PSA). He is an adjunct professor at Johns Hopkins SAIS, and serves as U.S. Executive Secretary for the Dartmouth Conference, a track-two U.S.-Russian conflict resolution initiative begun in 1960.

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